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Santiago was a city we had been looking forward to visiting for quite some time. We had planned a visit here – long before we even left home – because we were going to meet and stay with the family of one of my favorite patients, Isabel!

Isabel and I talked and planned for many weeks before Jen and I left for our trip. We were all very excited for us to be able to meet her sister, Carmen and Carmen’s husband, Andi. At last, all of our schedules aligned and we were all set to meet Isabel’s family. Andi was kind enough to pick us up from the airport in Santiago. We had a grand welcome waiting for us – see the pics below!

Paparazzi meeting us at the Santiago Airport

Ok, so the photogs weren’t for us. But we did ask one of the camera guys what the hubbub was all about and it turns out they were waiting for a famous Spanish singer named Ana Torroja. She was in town for the huge annual music festival in Viña Del Mar, a beautiful coastal town west of Santiago. We actually brushed shoulders with her as we were heading back into the airport to make a phone call to Andi because we couldn’t find him!

Once we found Andi, we headed home (but not without first stopping at a panadería to pick up the first of the many loaves of delicious marraqueta bread we would be eating over the next few days!) When we arrived, Carmen greeted us at the door. They offered us a room in their small home in Puente Alto – but as they say in Chile, the homes are small but the hearts are big!

Over the next few days, we shared many meals with Carmen and Andi and we also had the pleasure of spending time with Isabel’s brother, Carlos and his wife Lorena and their two children Paula and Mattias. Andi made sure we were well fed every morning and made fresh coffee for us which is very hard to find in Chile.

We visited the tallest building in all of Latin America, the Gran Torre Santiago, with Carmen and Carlos. We were able to see all of Santiago from there and learn about some important points of interest and history of the city.

Gran Torre Santiago

Jen, Carmen, Carlos and I

View from the top

A different view

Both Carmen and Lorena were amazing cooks – we were so lucky to have tried some home made Chilean dishes like parilla (barbecued meats), choripan (sausage wrapped in bread), chilena (a mix of tomatoes, onions, olive oil and a bunch of spices), and our new favorite drink, pisco sours. Lorena made some of the best pisco sours we have had in Chile up to this point, adding fresh mint leaves to really enhance the flavor.

Pisco sours with fresh mint

Carlos making some choripan

Parrilla

More parrilla!

The whole family (minus Jen!)

Spending time in Santiago with the family was just what we needed to recharge our travel batteries. We relaxed, ate, saw a movie, did laundry and took the metro to several places (which most of the time came with live entertainment!)

This metro singer sounded just like Elvis!!

It was very low key and that was alright with us after all the traveling we had been doing. We absolutely loved our time with Isabel’s family and we someday hope to return to see them again!

Honorable mentions: Laleona and Martín, our sweet home away from home kitties that belong to Carlos and Lorena.

Off to a different part of Patagonia, this time in Chile! The main reason we came to Puerto Natales was to see one of Chiles most famous national parks, Torres del Paine, and Puerto Natales is a good starting point. We took a relatively short bus ride from El Calafate into the small town of Puerto Natales. Our first bus ride crossing international borders was actually pretty uneventful, as it should be. We had to all get off the bus a couple times to get our passports stamped and get luggage scanned but before we knew it, we were pulling into town.

We stayed in a hostel called El Sendero, which was definitely a few notches up from our last one in El Chaltén (as far as looks go). It was really cozy and cabin-like, a stark contrast with the cold weather outside. This will be the closest town to the southern tip of the continent that we will be exploring and we could definitely feel the icy quality of the air. Every morning we had a delicious breakfast waiting for us in the very spacious kitchen. It was a great place to stay!

El Sendero Hostel Puerto Natales Chile Patagonia

El Sendero Hostel Puerto Natales Chile Patagonia

Our first day we spent wandering around the port town. It was a little overcast but we could still see the dramatic backdrop of the snow peaked Andes – it really felt as if we were nearing the southern tip of the world. There were many boats scattered around the port, all in different states – in and out of the water, some being used for work, some for pleasure and some being refurbished. Many of them were full of color and life and some were just lifeless, shells of what they used to be.

Boats in Puerto Natales Chile

Boats in Puerto Natales Chile

Since we were going to be there for only a day or so, we decided a guided tour through the national park would suffice. They would basically take us through the main points of interest in the park – yes, it was one of those hop on/hop off lazy people tours. We wanted to see the whole park and there was just no way to do it any other way.

The bus picked us up at 8:00 AM and it was a full one! Our guide, Gabriela did an exceptional job of keeping us entertained whilst providing us with pertinent information about the national park.

The first of many stops was the Cueva de Milodon (Mylodon Cave). This cave was first discovered around 1895 by a German guy who stumbled upon some remains of a giant sloth-like animal called a Mylodon, which in fact had already been discovered earlier by some dude named Darwin. They are said to have lived approx 10,000-13,000 years ago! Pretty neat!

Cueva del Milodón Chile Patagonia

Jen posing with the life-sized milodon

From here, we started heading towards the park and on the way encountered a real gaucho, herding his sheep with the help of his two best friends, a couple of dogs! The bus had to stop because the sheep were strewn all over the road running in different directions. They had lost their way, if you will. Alas they were recovered safely and we were on our way.

Gaucho herding sheep in Chilean Patagonia

A little while later we saw the famous Andean Condor. It is basically a large black vulture with white patches and can have a maximum wingspan of over 3 meters! It was incredible to see them just soaring above us.

Andean Condors in Chile

Another interesting animal that was plentiful in the area is the Guanaco, a type of llama native to South America. We were able to catch them from the bus almost the whole way there. The scenery on the way to the park was stunning.

Chilean guanaco

Guanaco on the lookout

Vantage point over the valley before entering the eastern entrance to Torres del Paine

After gaining entry into the park and driving for a bit, we could finally see the famous Torres del Paine (blue towers). They are granite peaks that are approx 2,500 meters above sea level. They were partially covered by clouds at first, but later in the day revealed themselves.

Torres Del Paine Chile

As we continued along the tour, there were many stops to see the beautiful lakes, glaciers, and waterfalls along with the different angles of the mountain range. The weather permitted us to take some great pictures that day. We some how keep getting lucky with the weather!

We stopped here to eat our lunch we packed with us

Suspension bridge on the way to Grey glaciar

A glacier, just chillin’

Granite towers

Salto Grande Waterfall

Oldest hotel in the park, Hostería Pehoé, dating back to 1959

Even though we didn’t have time to challenge ourselves with a grueling trek of any sort, we were still able to capture the essence of this grand national park. We would love to return to do the popular 4-5 day “W” trek through the park.

We said goodbye to the town of Puerto Natales, took a bus ride to Punta Arenas where we slept over night at the airport (which, with so many people sleeping in their sleeping bags looked like a hostel by the way). We had an early flight the next morning to Santiago. From there, our friends picked us up and took us to their home just outside of Santiago, Chile, a place where we could hang out and relax for a little while…

Our next stop after the glacier was the trekking capital of El Chaltén which is just a short bus ride north of El Calafate. It’s a haven for backpackers from all over the world who come to see the beautiful sights only accessible by trekking and camping. More than half of the town is made up of hotels and hostels, with the latter making up the majority. The town itself is small and simple. It sits in the shadow of many snow capped mountains and the famous Monte Fitz Roy. There are glaciers, lakes, and rivers of pure, clean, ice cold water that we drank plenty of – without having to sterilize it first. It was the best water we’ve ever tasted.

The day we arrived, the weather was terrible. The winds were so strong we could hardly walk in a straight line from the bus station to our hostel. We couldn’t see a single mountain in the dense cloud cover. The rain was coming down sideways at us and we started to doubt our trekking abilities in those kinds of conditions. We got some groceries and settled into our hostel and prayed for better weather the following day.

Our hostel was, for lack of a better term, hideous. See picture. At $39/night you’d think the accommodations would be a little nicer? We weren’t even sure if was the right place since it looked like an abandoned, dilapidated building. We laughed a little bit about it before we went in. But once inside, we were shown around and it was actually a pretty cool place. The bathrooms were fairly new and clean and our bunk beds in our shared room were cozy. Our roommates were really cool too and we made some good friends out of it. It was just right for us!

We haven’t had the best of luck at times during our trip so we couldn’t believe our eyes the next morning when we woke up to clear blue skies and a perfect view of the Fitz Roy right from our bedroom window! We chose to do the most popular, scenic trail called Laguna de los Tres. It brings you up close and personal to the foot of Fitz Roy, where a beautiful glacier lake sits. It was a 10 km trek to the lake, and very challenging. The last kilometer alone is supposed to take around an hour or more since it is very steep and made up of mostly rocks and boulders. Signs are even posted before the ascent warning hikers against the climb in high winds.

In total, it took us about 5 hours to reach the lake. One of our roommates, C.J. from New York, trekked with us that day and we all took turns keeping each other motivated to keep going. We even found some bracelets along the way that somebody must’ve dropped from their pack on the way up. We each took one and left the rest for the next trekkers to find.

Once we reached the lake, the struggle was worth it. We forgot about our aching muscles and feet once we laid eyes on the bright turquoise glacier lake and the imposing face of Fitz Roy. Check out a quick video from the top!

We spent several hours wandering the area and found rivers, waterfalls and plenty of rocks to climb. Jen enjoys risking life and limb and getting as close as possible to the edges of pretty much anything so she had a good time up there.

We took about a million pictures and soaked it all in as much as we could before starting our descent. Another 4 hours of trekking down the mountain truly tested our limits and our feet so we had to stop for a few happy hour beers before getting back to the hostel. They were probably the best beers we’ve ever had! We agreed that getting lost in Bariloche for those 30 km’s definitely helped us to do the 20 km hike that day.

The next day, the weather had turned back to being windy and rainy. There was a little bit of sun peeking through the clouds so we decided to head out anyways with another friend from the hostel, Elena from Italy. This picture of us looks deceivingly sunny and nice!

We decided on the Laguna del Torre trek, which was a 9 km trek to a different lake. It wasn’t as steep as the previous trail but it still had its challenges. We had strong winds and a bit of rain during our trek but during the last 1 km it started to get much worse.

Trekkers coming in the opposite direction warned us to turn back because of the winds. Naturally, we kept going. We had come so far and wanted to get a peek at that lake with its glacier at its side. As we got closer and closer, the winds were pushing us in all directions and sand and rocks were pelting us. We pulled our jackets over our faces and kept going until we could peek – for just a moment – over the last hill down into the lake. Jen braced herself on a rock to take a short video with the GoPro, check it out!

We checked out of the hostel the next day and said goodbye to friends we had made. The weather once again was terrible, windy and rainy and there were a lot of new people arriving just for a day or two who were seriously bummed out about not being able to do the Fitz Roy trek that we had done a few days before. We still can’t believe our luck and we are so thankful for being able to see such a beautiful place on earth.

That’s it for Argentina! Next we head into Chile to check out the other side of Patagonia!

We didn’t want to risk another bus catastrophe so we booked a flight to El Calafate. We were there in a snap!

We got lucky yet again with a super awesome AirBnB host named Ezequiel. He’s actually a tour guide and had plenty of good tips for us. We stayed in a guest house on his property on the edge of town, and spent a little time with him and his family talking about our trip over tea. We could see the beautiful turquoise lake (Lago Argentina) from our front window. The lake was dotted with pink flamingos and swans with black necks. There was even a hammock in the living room! It was a lovely, relaxing place.

The main attraction and reason for our visit was to see the spectacular Perito Moreno Glacier. The ice formation is approximately 97 sq miles and where it ends – the part we view – the avg height is about 74 meters (240 ft). That’s a smidge taller than the height of the Drop Tower (formerly Drop Zone) at Great America! It’s also only 1 of 3 glaciers in Patagonia that is continually advancing. Neither of us had ever seen a glacier in our lives so we were pretty excited to see one, especially one so grandiose!

It did not disappoint. We spent hours at the park, first on a boat taking us slowly along the face of the glacier, then afterwards we walked for hours taking in the enormity of it. You could hear the flowing water within the glaciers rivers and waterfalls. We waited patiently for pieces of ice to fall and then listened for the big booming sound each piece made as it hit the water. The pieces falling looked small from where we were standing but in reality, they’re the size of cars, houses, and some even bigger still.

You’d think a full day of staring at a block of ice waiting for it to melt would be boring but we could barely take our eyes off of it in time to catch the bus back to our house. It’s not something we will soon forget.

In order to get to Bariloche, we decided to take an “easy” 18 hour bus ride from Mendoza. We downloaded a few movies, got to the terminal early and waited to board our 9:30pm bus (scheduled to arrive between 4-5 PM the following day). The following series of events actually happened:
1. Right before going to the bus terminal we were both dealing with “stomach issues”, probably from what we ate the night before.
2. Navigating some of the bus terminals has proven to be somewhat difficult. Most of the time, departure screens are not clear, hundreds of people are going in all directions and a ton of wild dogs roam the terminals. It’s a general state of chaos! Naturally, our bus did not show up until 11 pm. Let me just reiterate: crowds, heat, chaos and thinking you’ve missed your bus do not mix well with having travelers diarrhea! Here’s a pic of what we were dealing with:

3. Just two hours into our ride, the bus breaks down. No notifications or communication from the bus driver whatsoever. We finally learn that we’re waiting for a new bus or someone to fix the motor. While waiting, we fell asleep only to be awoken by angry/hungry mosquitos eating our faces off like zombies!! It’s daylight now and finally leaving. Set back another 4 hours…..perfect. Here’s a pic of Shannon’s face after the carnage:

Once we made it to Bariloche, it was totally worth it.

San Carlos de Bariloche sits at the base of the Andes in the Río Negro Province and is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. It’s known for its great skiing, trekking and chocolate! We’ve never seen so many chocolate stores in one area! The architecture of some of the buildings have a European alpine-style to them and at one point was called “Little Switzerland”.

It was such a beautiful place to be, and after all the fun city things we had been doing, we were so excited to get in touch with the nature!

Our plans were to simply get some good hikes in and enjoy the scenery. We were fortunate enough to get an AirBnB host, Carlos, who is really knowledgeable about the area and gave us some tips on what to do and where to go.

Once we figured out the public bus system, we were able to get to some great trail heads. Our first hike was Campanario. It was about an hour straight up. We could have taken the chairlift up but we chose to tough it out. The reward was some of the most beautiful vistas we have ever seen! We were surrounded by the many lakes that make up Bariloche.

The next day we decided to take a day hike. We started a trail head in Parque Municipal Llao Llao. Coincidentally we ran into the same guys that took pictures for us the previous day. We decided to hike together while getting to know each other.

A couple hours into the hike we started to realize that we had somehow veered off course. It was 11:30 PM by the time a bus came by the road that we were walking on. It was dark, we were exhausted AND we had to fight off aggressive stray dogs with our walking sticks! Yes, this actually happened. We walked just over 30 km that day, which was not on the agenda! It was beautiful though…

Because we couldn’t really walk the next day we decided to go kayaking instead of bike riding like we had originally planned. Lago Perito Moreno Oeste was beautiful that day and the water was crystal clear. Just the relaxation we needed. That night we went out with our friends to celebrate one of their birthdays, a nice end to our trip in Bariloche.